Coronal Microleakage of Teeth Restored with Cast Posts and Cores Cemented with Four Different Luting Agents after Thermocycling.

PURPOSE: The apical seal provided by a root canal filling may be breached via coronal leakage. This study aimed to compare the teeth restored with custom-made cast metal posts and cores cemented with different luting agents in terms of coronal microleakage after thermocycling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This in vitro study was conducted on 32 extracted single-canal teeth. Root canals were prepared by step-back technique and filled with gutta percha and sealer. The coronal 7 mm of gutta percha was removed, and post space was prepared using peeso reamers #2 and #3 consecutively. After fabricating the acrylic resin patterns of the posts and cores, they were cast using Ni-Cr metal alloy. The specimens were divided into 4 groups in which the castings were cemented using one of the following luting agents: zinc phosphate (ZP), glass ionomer (GI), Panavia F 2.0, and Speed CEM. After cementation, the teeth were immersed in distilled water and incubated for 7 days. Then, the teeth were subjected to thermocycling, immersed in silver nitrate for 6 hours, and finally sectioned. The degree of dye penetration into the coronal part of the specimens was measured using a stereomicroscope. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitey U tests with significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: The median microleakage in ZP, Speed CEM, GI, and Panavia were 171.89, 114.76, 26.51, and 20.02 mum, respectively. Pairwise comparisons among GI and ZP, GI, and Speed CEM, ZP and Panavia, ZP and Speed CEM, and Panavia and Speed CEM groups yielded significant differences (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Complete coronal seal was not achieved with any of the luting agents. The highest and the lowest degree of microleakage was yielded by ZP and Panavia luting agents, respectively.